Albert Melvin Specht

Albert Melvin Specht, beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away on Sunday, June 17 at the age of 97. Al was born in Oklahoma City to Blanche and Albert Specht. He grew up on a farm outside the city and attended the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 1942 with a degree in petroleum engineering. He was unable to attend his graduation, however, because he was already attending U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School. His mother accepted the diploma for him.

Al served in the Pacific during WWII as an Ammunitions Officer and supervised the rearming of units of the Third and Fifth Fleets during the Okinawa campaign. He was awarded a Bronze Star with a "V" for valor in combat for his service but was always modest about his actions during the war. Not long ago, he happened to mention the time he helped a bomb disposal expert disarm an unexploded Japanese bomb that had landed on a nearby destroyer.

After the war Al married his long-time sweetheart, Martha Stephenson of Louisville, KY, and began his career as a petroleum engineer. Al and Martha traveled the world together, living in East Texas; West Texas; Bakersfield; Calgary, Canada; Long Beach; and Jakarta, Indonesia where they lived for ten years while Al worked as production manager for Atlantic Richfield. When Al retired from ARCO Indonesia, he and Martha first moved to La Jolla but then returned to Bakersfield where they had lived in the '50s and always remembered fondly. Al worked in Dubai as an ARCO contractor for a couple of years after he retired, but Al and Martha spent most of their retirement enjoying the company of their many friends from the oil business who had also retired in Bakersfield. He was an enthusiastic golfer and bridge player. Al was especially proud of his volunteer work at the private food bank, Golden Empire Gleaners, where he was one of the first volunteers when it started in 1985. He resided at Brookdale for the last few years and very much enjoyed and appreciated the loving care of its staff.

Al is survived by his son Larry of Washington DC, his son Tom of Bakersfield and his daughter Patty Hill of Carpinteria, CA, seven grandchildren (Aly, Amanda, Josh, Rachel, Robert, Laura, and Emma) as well as four great-grandchildren (Clayton, Charles, Brooke, and Chance).

In memory of Al, donations may be made to the Golden Empire Gleaners.

Published in Bakersfield Californian on June 24, 2018